“I was that bird once”

I was that bird once, that dove in through
rafters,
without the rotting floorboards careening beneath my feet

Beak picked clean of the yellow dust
Sharp line of dust that runs through the air
shimmering asbestos and dampness of mind

They cage us here never to return free,
our bellies shrinking dry as feathers
into the madness of hunger

I lay down and try to die with the mice and the bats
Or hang my limp body over humming electric lights
In buzzing ecstasy and the glow behind my wings

And my sight is robbed by maggots

-

A calm yellow light
filters through the
glass and stretches
over board and gaping
exposed pipes solidified
with mold and dust

The sign on the floor says “flee”
You walk in and you are “free”

***

Sydnie Simmons is a creative writing and French student at Shippensburg University where she is the trumpet section leader in the marching band. Her work has been published in the 2022 edition of the university undergraduate literary journal, The Reflector, and her poem "Sorry" was awarded first place of the D'Orazio-Carragher Prize of Excellence. Simmons lives with her two cats. Twitter: @Sylvie_Poetry